Union's Wilson receives Under Armour AD of Year honor

AAC | Fri, Jun. 25, 2010

ANAHEIM,
Calif. - Union Director of
Athletics Darin S. Wilson received
the 2009-10 Under Armour AD of the Year for
the Southeast Region in the NAIA Thursday at the National Association of
Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) annual convention.

"I am humbled to be receiving this award," said Wilson.
"To be recognized
by NACDA and your peers in this manner is amazing."

Wilson
is one of 29 who were honored by NACDA. There are four geographic
regions -
northeast, southeast, central and west; while the membership is
separated into
seven categories - Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A);
Football
Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA); Division I (formerly
Division I-AAA); Division II; Division III; NAIA; and Junior/Community
Colleges,
along with one International winner. One winner was selected in each of
the
seven categories, for a total of 29 honorees.

"On behalf of the Union
College family, I want to
extend special congratulations and thanks to our Athletics Director,
Darin
Wilson, upon notice that he has been named the 2009-10 NAIA Southeast
Region Under
Armour AD of the Year," said Union President Edward de Rosset. "Darin Wilson is imminently
deserving of this honor. Virtually every aspect of Union College's
athletics programs has thrived during his tenure as AD, and he has been a
leader in the application of the tenets of the NAIA Champions of
Character
program."

In his seventh year serving as the Union director of
athletics, Wilson
has overseen the renovation of several athletics facilities including
the
addition of press boxes to the football and softball facilities, the
installation of synthetic sports turf at Burch/Nau Field and the
remodeling of
the student-athlete training facilities.

"Darin has had a great influence in overseeing the extensive
upgrading of virtually all athletic facilities on the campus making them
comparable to the best among small college facilities," commented de
Rosset. "These
improvements have had a remarkable influence on the aesthetic appearance
of the
campus, the performance of teams and individual athletes, safety of our
athletes and have added to the enjoyment of college life for intramurals
and
casual athletic activities as well as use of facilities by the local
community."

Since his arrival, Wilson
has been instrumental in reinvigorating the Bulldogs athletics program.
He
reinstated cross country, track and field, swimming, bowling and men's
and
women's tennis. The Bulldogs in return have won 37 Appalachian Athletics
Conference titles, six NAIA Regional titles, and have participated in 39
national championship tournaments and events. Union
further excelled off the field with 43 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and four
CoSIDA
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team members. Union also won its
first-ever AAC Duard Walker All-Sports Trophy during the 2009-10 season
as it
captured a total of 13 conference titles this past year.

"This honor is byproduct of all the hard work of the
coaching staff, the athletic training staff, the sports information
staff and our administrative assistant Lana
Faulkner," Wilson
said. "This award would not be possible if it were not for them.
Everyone
has worked together to help make Union
College athletics the
best it can be.

"I would also like to thank the administration and
president de Rosset for
their support of me and of Union
College athletics,"
he added. "The school as a whole has been very supportive of athletics,
and all of the teams' successes are a result of that."

A two-time AAC Athletic Director of the Year, Wilson has shown his
dedication to Union athletics since he graduated from the institution in
1996.
After graduation, Wilson
joined the Union baseball staff, eventually working his way up to head
coach,
where he served for five seasons. During that time, the Mid-South
Conference
honored him as the 2001 Coach of the Year.